As of 10:30, the Maryland Department of Transportation is reporting that an earlier police activity in Carroll County has been cleared, and Route 32 is reopened south of Gamber. The incident had all but blocked Route 32 in the area of Miners Ridge Road. MDOT is still reporting roadwork being conducted on southbound Interstate-895 in Baltimore, near exit 8A at Shell Road. It's affecting the left shoulder and left travel lane. The Maryland Transit Administration reported no MARC train delays, but is reminding commuters that shuttle buses are still working in the area of BWI where they are repairing a light rail infrastructure issue.

Work will begin Thursday on a long-planned project to expand a portion of Route 29 in Howard County that is considered a "major commuter bottleneck" near Columbia's town center, officials said. The $32.7 million project will see three miles of northbound Route 29 widened from two to three lanes from just north of Route 32 to just south of Route 175. The work will also remove direct access points from residential streets onto Route 29 in the area, furthering the transition of the road into a controlled-access highway.

A $400,000 project to improve Route 32 at four Sykesville intersections will begin in about two weeks."The only thing motorists will see this fall are shoulder improvements," said Rick Lindsay, assistant district engineer for the State Highway Administration.The shoulder work prepares the way for the widening of the two-lane highway, which the highway administration has scheduled for completion this spring, he said."The construction season is winding down, and cooler morning temperatures don't allow us to lay the surface courses in thin layers," he said.

As of 10:30, the Maryland Department of Transportation is reporting that an earlier police activity in Carroll County has been cleared, and Route 32 is reopened south of Gamber. The incident had all but blocked Route 32 in the area of Miners Ridge Road. MDOT is still reporting roadwork being conducted on southbound Interstate-895 in Baltimore, near exit 8A at Shell Road. It's affecting the left shoulder and left travel lane. The Maryland Transit Administration reported no MARC train delays, but is reminding commuters that shuttle buses are still working in the area of BWI where they are repairing a light rail infrastructure issue.

It's been about a year since the State Highway Administration closed the Route 32 exit ramp to U.S. 1 in Savage because too many cars were getting hit while nudging their way into traffic.The State Highway Administration replaced that ramp with an intersection that includes a traffic light for vehicles coming off TTC Route 32 -- a change that pleases highway officials and residents.Accident figures are not available for 1994, but in 1993 there were three ramp-related accidents, two that happened before the July 1993 closing of the ramp.

Build it, and they will come.More than 75 residents of River Hill and Clarksville gathered at Pointers Run Elementary School on Monday night to hear state highway officials explain the new four-lane section of Route 32 they're constructing."

As of 9:15 a.m. the Maryland Department of Transportation was reporting that an accident on southbound I-795 at the Beltway had been cleared. Two more incidents remained toward the end of rush hour — in Howard County, there was a report of a disabled vehicle in the roadway on westbound Route 32 at I-95 that closed a merge lane; and on the southbound lanes Beltway past Route 2 in Anne Arundel County, an incident involving a single car closed one...

The State Highway Administration has opened three roundabouts and two new ramps and removed two traffic signals along Route 32. Traffic signals have been removed along Route 32 at Pfefferkorn and Ten Oaks roads. Motorists traveling along Route 32 can now use the ramps and roundabouts to access Burntwoods, Pfefferkorn and Ten Oaks roads. A new Burntwoods Road bridge over Route 32 is also open to traffic.

Town officials are seeking a way to prevent Route 32 from becoming one big traffic jam in the next five years.Delivery people for Dixon's Flowers normally don't try to make a left turn on to Route 32 when leaving the store for Eldersburg."

Sykesville's plan for improving Route 32 won a conditional go-ahead from the State Highway Administration Tuesday."We can and will be able to do much of the work, if we get the funding," said Douglas Rose, SHA district engineer.The SHA agreed "to incorporate the improvements into our work on the highway," he said.Money for the improvements would come from the SHA maintenance budget which, Mr. Rose said, "has been seriously hurt by the bad winter weather."The proposed but unfunded plan would make Route 32, which the state calls the Sykesville bypass, a four-lane road from Route 851, south of the Patapsco River, to the planned Obrecht Road extension that the county has scheduled for construction late this year.

As construction of a new interchange at Route 32 and Linden Church Road enters its final stages, motorists should get ready for some major changes to the flow of traffic on that stretch of road. Starting Friday, Oct. 11, the State Highway Administration will close the old alignment of West Linden Church Road and move traffic onto parts of the new interchange. Drivers will use ramps from Linden Church Road to Route 32 and a new bridge over Route 32 instead. This traffic realignment will last about three weeks, according to the SHA. During this time, construction crews will continue to resurface Route 32 and to build ramps from Route 32 onto the new Linden Church Road.

A 73-year-old Annapolis woman was killed and a man and woman suffered minor injuries in a two-vehicle collision on Route 3 in Millersville on Friday afternoon, according to Anne Arundel County police and fire officials. The collision occurred about 12:45 p.m. along southbound Route 3, near the ramp for Route 32, said Chief Keith Swindle, a fire department spokesman. Traffic investigators determined that a Subaru Legacy came off the ramp from Route 32 onto Route 3 and collided with a Nissan Murano, police said.

Heavy traffic that had earlier caused backups of up to 19 miles from the Bay Bridge had completely dissipated by late Monday night. There were no backups in either direction, according to information on the Maryland Transportation Authority's recorded hotline. Officials predicted more than 300,000 vehicles would travel the Bay Bridge over the holiday weekend, but as Labor Day winded down, it appeared everyone was trying to leave the Eastern Shore at the same time. On Monday afternoon, the Maryland Department of Transportation said delays stretched 19 miles on westbound U.S. 50 from Route 404. An accident involving a plane that crashed along the highway in Bowie did not help matters, leading to lane closures and further backups to allow for a Medivac.

Construction on a $2 million month-long resurfacing project on Interstate 95 in Howard County began Thursday evening, according to the State Highway Administration. The project will close lanes between Route 32 and Route 216 between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. each evening. According to SHA, single-lane closures will begin at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Double-lane closures are possible after 9 p.m. on all nights, according to a SHA news release. The release states the project is scheduled to be finished by mid-September, weather permitting, and that the speed limit in the work area will be reduced to 55 MPH during construction. The project includes grinding (removing the top layer of asphalt)

An early morning fatal crash on Interstate 95 South at the Intercounty Connector in Prince George's County involving three vehicles, including a tractor trailer, backed up traffic for nearly four hours on Wednesday, according to the Maryland State Police. The state Department of Transportation reported the incident at 3:38 a.m., and SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar said that traffic was diverted east and west along Route 32 to southbound Baltimore Washington Parkway, U.S. 1 and Route 29. DOT reported the incident cleared at 7:10 a.m. It was one among three that have shut down traffic in both directions on the region's roadways, according to the state transportation authorities.

An accident involving one vehicle on the northbound side of Route 29 slowed traffic early Tuesday morning, as crews worked to clear the roadway near Route 32 in Howard County, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration. At least one ramp onto Route 32 remained closed. Maryland State Police said Howard County Police were handling the accident, but a duty officer said he had no information on the accident as of 6:45 a.m. Also Tuesday morning, one of four southbound bores of the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore was closed due to a disabled vehicle, the SHA reported about 7 a.m. krector@baltsun.com twitter.com/rectorsun

The Savage Community Association will have its general meeting on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Carroll Baldwin Hall. The topic will be the recent closing of the Route 32 ramp to southbound Route 1.State and county highway officials, corridor industrial park business representatives and County Councilwoman Shane Pendergrass will discuss the situation and consider the alternatives.Information: (301) 725-1089.POLICE LOG* North Laurel: 9900 block of Hughes Ave.: A computer was stolen Wednesday night.

A Laurel woman was killed yesterday afternoon when the Saturn she was driving crossed the double yellow line on Route 32 and struck an oncoming Mercedes, police said. Margaret Mary Soares, 49, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and passenger in the other car -- Lawrence Zanetti, 55, and Joseph Zanetti, 20, both of Glenwood -- were flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where they were listed in serious condition. Police said that Soares' car struck a glancing blow against the right-side guard rail and then crossed the center lane into the path of the northbound Mercedes.